Lamp-chimney cleaner



(HUM-06161.)

W. H. REED.

LAMP CHIMNEY CLEANER. I No. 330,619. Patented Nov. 17, 1885.

A fizvezziar llnrrn flrarns ATENI tries.

LAMP-CHIMNEY CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 330,619, dated November 17, 1885.

Application filed February 20, 1885. Serial No. 156,588. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. REED, of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, in the State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lamp-Chimney Cleaners, of which the following is a full, clear, and ex act description, reference being had to the ac v companying drawings, which form part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a side view of my invention, and Fig. 2 a like view of the cleaner inserted in a lamp-chimney.

My invention relates to lamp-chimney cleaners, and has for its object the construction of a device in which there are no metallic surfaces which can be brought in contact with the glass in cleaning.

In lamp-chimney cleaners heretofore used metallic substances have almost invariably formed a component part of the structure.

It is well known to all users of lamps in which glass chimneys form a part that cleaners having metallic surfaces about them which are brought in contact with the glass in cleaning it produce scratches in the glass. The unequal expansion of the glass caused by the heat of the flame, and the subsequent unequal contraction in cooling after the flame has been extinguished, cause the glass to fracture and break, and experience has demonstrated the fact that the fracture invariably starts from the point in the chimney where it has been scratched.

My invention consists in the construction hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

A represents a wooden shaft having an enlargement at each end, one of which forms a head which has two longitudinal slots at right angles to each other, as shown at B. Flexible elastic blades or wings G, of rubber, felt, or other suitable non-metallic material, are inserted in the slots and secured by cement. The blades are curved, as shown in Fig. 2, to conform to the shape of the lamp-chimney, and form a figure, the longitudinal cross-section of which is substantially heart-shaped. The elasticity and flexibility of the blades enable them to be curved laterally around the head of the shaft when inserting the cleaner through the contracted part of the chimney, (marked D,) and cause them to expand as soon as released, and conform to the swell or bulb of the chimney, as shown at H, and nearly fill the same. When the flue of the chimney is sufficiently large, the cleaner can be passed on through the same and out of the top E, the flexible blades again being curved laterally around the shaft and presenting a portion of one side to the glass and nearly filling the flue. In some chimneys, especially the Argand, the-flue is too small to permit the flexible blades to pass through. To provide means for cleaning this-class of chimneys, the opposite end of the shaft, which forms the handle, is provided with a longitudinal slot, F, adapted to receive one end of a suitable cloth, which is wound around'said shaft and held against rotation thereon. The cleaner thus formed is inserted into either end of the chimney and rotated to cleanse it, after which the soiled cloth is removed, and the slotted end again presents a convenient and clean handle for operating the cleaner proper.

In using the cleaner a wet, damp, or dry cloth or soft paper can be placed over the blades and readily moved about in the chimney by the adhesion of the flexible blades; or the cleaner can be used wet or dry without any covering. By the elasticity and flexibility of the blades the cleaner is well adapted as a mop, to remove the water from the inside of the chimney after washing and rinsing, and can be used to clean any shape or configuration of chimney.

I am aware of a chimney-cleaner in which square pieces of paper are inserted in the slotted end of a handle, then wound or folded around the handle and said folds held in po sition by a metallic ring, the opposite end of the handle being provided with a permanent paper mop. I am also aware of a cleaner in which two blades of rubber are attached to a wooden handle one in advance of the other and upon opposite sides of the handle, and do not therefore claim such as of myinvention. By my construction a cleaner is presented which has the form of the most difficult part of the chimney to be cleaned, conforms to any shape or configuration of chimneys, serves as a mop to remove the water from the chimney after washing, and presents a polishing surface to the glass when rotated and moved longitudinally blades or wings curved, as shown, and adapt- I through the bulb and flue, and a handle adapted to fold laterally around the shaft when coned to be converted into a mop for cleaning the tracted, and to expand, when released, into a fiueofsmall chimneyswithoutsoilingthehands figure the cross-secti0n of which is substanr 5 5 of the person using the cleaner proper. Q tially heart-shaped, as and for the purpose set Having thus fully described my invention, forth. I 01mm 1s WILLIAM H. REED.

A lamp-chimney cleaner consisting of a wooden shaft, one end of' which is provided Witnesses: IO with longitudinal slots arranged at right an- EMIL N. TAPP,

gles, in combination with a series of elastic JOHN W. FROST. 

